To save time and skip some of the mess when making a syrup, steeping flavored tea bags is a great alternative to prepping the ingredients separately. This is a recipe for homemade white tea syrup that was used for the first time in the Gandalf’s Smoke Ring, a The Lord of The Rings cocktail that we created in honor of the release of The Rings of Power television show. As can be deduced from its name, it was inspired by Gandalf, a wizard in the original movie trilogy, and since he’s known in the later movies as “Gandalf The White,” it felt fitting that we use white tea in the drink in some way. I landed on making a white tea syrup, and these are the specifications I used.
Add 200 ml hot water to a saucepan.
Heat over high heat until boiling, then remove pan from heat.
Add white tea bags and let steep for 15-20 minutes.
Remove tea bags and return pan to burner over high heat.
Add 200 g sugar and heat while stirring for 3-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Strain syrup through a fine mesh strainer 1-2 times to remove any tea or sugar particles.
Pour syrup into a squeeze bottle or pouch with a spout using a funnel, then refrigerate or freeze.